Splurge or Save Thursday: Millers Nylon Tote Bag
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Need a lightweight everyday work bag that doesn’t cost a fortune? Consider this nylon tote from Banana Republic.
This roomy bag has a snap-top closure, interior pocket for small items, and two sets of straps so you can carry it by hand or on your shoulder. There’s enough space for a laptop, your personal essentials, and then some. The modern, minimal design works for both leisure and business travel.
This tote bag is $120 and comes in olive and black.
Sales of note for 9/23/25
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off tops and sweaters
- Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + extra 15% off
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles with code
- J.Crew – Extra 30% off sale styles, plus up to 50% off layers they love
- J.Crew Factory – 40-70% off everything + extra 60% off clearance
- M.M.LaFleur – Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Nordstrom – Fall savings event! Also get 15% off select beauty items and 6x points on beauty.
- Talbots – Anniversary event! 25% off entire purchase, plus fresh fall classics from $34.50
I know people often vent here about schools, especially public schools, and much of the criticism is fair, but to share a happy story: I’m absolutely blown away by how much my second grader is learning this year. It was a rough adjustment at the start of the year because her teacher’s expectations are much higher than her first grade teacher’s were but she’s settled in and it’s going much more smoothly now and I’m so impressed by the depth with which they’re studying topics. They learned about narrative structure and wrote a whole book as a class, with each kid contributing a chapter, they’re doing all kinds of cool hands-on math with numbers and geometric shapes and just finished a unit on tessellation, in social studies they learned about how chocolate is made (culminating in a tasting!), etc. Her previous teachers have been good at differentiation with multiple math and reading groups and she was perfectly happy at school, but this teacher has a master’s degree in gifted education and I feel like it really shows. No worksheets, everything is so hands-on and interesting.
I’m so excited – my almost 5 year old is starting to read! We’re doing the first set of BOB books and I’m letting him lead but just wanted to put this fun update here.
I’m having a tough time with my preschooler. She constantly pushes every boundary and when I fuss at her about something she immediately tells me I’m not her friend anymore and then seriously ignores me the rest of the day. I hate to admit how much this bothers me and I respond by pulling away a little myself. Clearly I need a better way to handle this. Any advice?
Ready to wean after 21 months nursing, but I’m scared of the emotional/hormonal fallout for myself. Please tell me that dropping from 2 nursing sessions to none during the fall isn’t going to drop me into a depression spiral, or how to try and prevent this?
Our Bosch dishwasher (which is at least 15 years old) had the front panel break. I was assuming we would get another Bosch to replace it but husband went to the appliance store and got a really good deal on a Miele that he liked better.
Loved my Bosch dishwasher, any Miele experiences? Assuming it’s another high quality dishwasher that will do what I want it to?
I’ve dropped the ball on planning for spring break in March – it looks like a lot is already booked. Any suggestions for a place to go? Coming from the southeastern US, two boys ages 6 and 8, we are not super luxe people but don’t want to stay in a budget hotel the whole time. Kids are pretty adventurous and into National Parks. Open to anyhwere in the US or the Caribbean – we all have passports. I have a decent amount of Marriott and American Airlines points I’m willing to cash in for this. Am I crazy to consider Harry Potter World combined with a drive to south FL to go to Everglades NP?
for those of you who have explosive children, how do you keep everyone safe when solo parenting. tomorrow night is a movie night at our kids’ school. kids were informed that in order for us to attend, bedtime had to go smoothly this week. 7 year old DD2 has had a rough week with lots of screaming, hitting, etc. (she already sees a therapist and we met with a psychiatrist yesterday). when she remembers that movie night is tomorrow and that she is not going, she is going to completely totally lose it. i will be solo when this occurs bc DH wont be home yet from work. I anticipate a lot of screaming, yelling, potentially trying to throw/break things/be destructive. tips?
DD’s class got a class pet (a hamster) like 3 weeks ago and the thing already died! I feel badly for the teacher who has to console 25 second graders this morning.
We attend a great daycare with DD (3), and there’s a park right across the street. I usually pick up at around 5, go to the park until 5:30, and get home for dinner around 6. There usually are other parents from the daycare at the park, and we are all friendly and it’s a great community. One issue I have is that some parents bring A LOT of snacks to the park. Like, backpacks full of food – string cheese, pouches, Cheerios, fruit leather, juice boxes, goldfish crackers. And then all the kids cluster around the snacks instead of playing. I know this sounds super uptight, but (1) if she eats too many snacks, she won’t eat dinner; (2) I would rather spend park time running around; and (3) it makes me feel awkward because my kid is mooching off other people’s snacks, so then I feel like I should bring snacks too, but I don’t really want to go crazy with the snacks. They already do a mid-day snack at daycare around 3:30pm, and if she’s alone, she doesn’t ask for food at 5pm, she’s very happy to play until 6. We aren’t a big snacking/processed food family. How do other people manage this?
And we’re moving! Estate agent coming next week. My husband and I finally had a chance to talk last night, and it really feels like the only option. My commute will go from “requiring an overnight stay” to “long but in my own bed every night”. And there will be yoga studios, and bookshops, and cafes. Estate agent coming on Tuesday.
T seems sad but we’ve agreed some parameters – he really wants a garden, even if it is communal., and his 3 closest friends are kids who come into the city a ton, so we will plan sleepovers. We’ve talked up the great bits (access to loads more activities, actual takeaway food options, potential for reuniting with some nursery buddies).
A family came to visit at the weekend – they stuck a note through the door and I invited them round – but their timeline is quicker than ours.
Do you/how do you store toys in various parts of the house? We don’t have a designated play room but baby stuff has pretty much taken over the family room. That’s fine, but I’d like to contain the chaos a bit. Is a basket on the floor the solution? Or is there some other toy storage option I’m not aware of?
In a couple of weeks, a family member is having a high risk surgery and will be hospitalized for a week after. I’m taking time off work to be at their bedside. We have 2 young kids so my husband’s going to have to pick up more of the home duties during that time.
What can we do to prepare for this upcoming stressor? (I guess I’m mostly asking logistically, but also emotionally).